Letters to the Editor Sept. 30, 2011

New septic tank pumpings are a good news/bad news situation

In the Sept. 22 newspaper, I read that the city is planning to accept septic tank pumpings at the new wastewater treatment plant. This is a good news/bad news situation.

The good news is it will be a service to that part of the community that relies on septic tanks. It will also generate some revenue for the city, although I question whether it will pay for itself in only two years.

The bad news is that the new $42 million treatment plant was not designed to handle the additional solids loading! Let me explain.

A wastewater treatment plant, in making dirty water into clean water,
removes the solids (pollutants) from the water. These solids do not
disappear! The solids have to be treated, basically decomposed (a source
of “stink” when not working properly). The recent treatment plant
project improved the capacity and process to remove solids from the
water, but did not increase the capacity to treat (decompose) the
removed solids.

Now the septic tank pumpers will bring solids, lots of solids if the
revenue projections are correct, to a treatment plant not designed to
handle the additional solids load. Additional solids treatment capacity
is a planned future project. It was not part of the recent project.

The likely response to this will be that the new plant can handle the
additional solids loading, but the quality of the treated solids will
be lowered. This tells me there could be a new problem. That problem is
possible future regulatory violations (and fines), which will require
more treatment plant improvements, meaning more money, meaning higher
sewer rates.

I hope the city considers this before it is fully committed to this
new program of receiving septic tank solids. I think the program is a
good idea. I am not convinced the full impact has been considered.

Michael Young

Crescent City

Wants to clarify the reason inmate who recently died was
incarcerated

Regarding the Sept. 20 article, “Pelican Bay inmate, 30, found
dead,” I hope you are willing to be fair in reporting the truth,
especially in regards to a person’s reputation.

My nephew, Johnny Owen Vick, recently passed away at Pelican Bay
State Prison. Along with the hardship of being separated from his
family, Johnny had to deal with a lifetime of struggles since his youth.

It was unfair to imply that his reason for incarceration was assault
with intent because this incident happened long after he was in the
hands of state corrections. I’m not justifying his actions but if you
really want a story, you should report how a 14-year-old boy begins his
(short) life-long process lost and mistreated in the system, only to
find his way out by ending his own life.

By the way, his original charge was breaking and entering.

Mary Waggoner

Roseburg, Ore.

Opposed to liberals infecting our kids’ textbooks and minds

This is in regard to Jennifer Young’s Sept. 22 letter (Christian
woman supports her LBGT brothers and sisters”) in support of SB48.

Liberals love such terms as “diversity,” “inclusiveness” and
“tolerance,” but when it comes to the contribution of the
Judeo-Christian community, all such notions turn into outright
hostility. While the contribution of LGBT folks to our history might be
vaguely interesting, in my mind such contributions were incidental to
their sexual orientation rather than integral. Conversely, the
contributions of Christians in this country, our nation’s educators,
civil-rights advocates, humanitarians, legislators, etc. were profoundly
influenced by their faith in the one who said, “do to others as you
would have them do to you” and “you are the salt of the earth.”

American society was heavily salted by the influence of prominent
Christians in all levels of human endeavor. Our Ivy League schools were
started by Christians in order to promulgate the ideas of liberty,
morality and knowledge largely based on the Judeo-Christian scriptures.
The civil rights movement was infused with the language of the
scriptures and the sacred equality of all men created in the image of
God.

The first agitators in this country who demanded an end to human
bondage were Christian Quakers. Most of the humanitarian organizations
in this country were started by Christians seeking to alleviate human
suffering. Most of the signers of our Constitution were also Christians,
many of them theologians.

And it was James Madison, the father of our Constitution, who
implored the “Benefactor of Mankind” to “… inspire all nations with a
love of justice … with a reverence for the unerring precept of our holy
religion to do to others as they would require others do to them …”
(From Madison’s proclamation calling for a day of prayer “and adorations
to Almighty God,” July 9, 1812).

So, what if those pushing SB48 had the good will to also demand equal
time for the Christians who made such venerable contributions to this
country because of their faith? It sounds totally reasonable to me, but
such “diversity,” “inclusiveness” and “tolerance” is a liberal myth that
just applies to the segments of society hell-bent on deconstructing
Western culture. What I’m opposed to is the liberal virus of
“affirmative action” infecting our children’s textbooks and their
minds.

Clark Wade

Crescent City

The Solid Waste Authority is doing an amazing job here

I am writing to reiterate the comments made by Ralph Johansen and
Donna Thompson in the Letters to the Editor on Sept. 27. I am in
complete agreement with them and I would like to add some comments of my
own.

First of all, the Solid Waste Authority is doing an amazing job! It
has even incorporated the schools in its endeavor to cut down on the
waste in this community. Bess Maxwell School is recycling all of the
paper it uses and the container we have in class is easy for the
students to utilize and is unsorted. The company does all of the sorting
for us!

It’s a simple way to encourage recycling in class and teach the
students some good habits toward our environment.

Presently, I do not know of another company that recycles more items
than ours. I am so impressed with this organization, I can’t imagine why
county Supervisor Mike Sullivan has chosen to single them out and
harass them. How much more time and effort is going to go into
“investigating” this well-run facility?

Why not put your energy into making this community a better one by
allowing the Solid Waste Authority to continue to do an exemplary job.
Go after the much-needed blight problem we have or bring in some new
businesses that would put people to work.

Help our community. Don’t tear it down. You are barking up the wrong
tree, Mr. Sullivan.

Diana Clark

Crescent City

Area will always hold a special place in heart of departing teacher

After living and teaching in Crescent City since 1988, I am moving to
Washington state to teach and live closer to my family.

Good-bye to the students, teachers, parents and others I know to whom
I haven’t had the chance to say good-bye to in person.